Stacia Schacht takes over talented CEC swim program

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CLOQUET, Minn. – Ever since she began swimming around the age of 6, Stacia Schacht has loved the water. So it was to no one’s surprise that after being away from the sport she dominated in both high school and college, she recently took the next step in becoming a coach.

She will first get her feet wet as a coach with the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls swimming and diving program.

“I’ve always been in the water,” said Schact. “I just love swimming and it really means a lot to me. It just grew on me, and since taking some time off from swimming, I just thought it would be fun to get back into it by coaching.”

Schacht, 26, graduated from White Bear Lake High School in 2001, where she excelled and ultimately advanced to the state meet as a senior. After high school, the swimming fanatic attended the University of Wisconsin LaCrosse where she continued to tear up the lanes from 2002-05. She was team captain during her senior season and participated in nationals.

The breaststroke all-star later graduated in 2006 and took some time off from the sport. And it wasn’t until moving from the Twin Cities to Duluth last summer that Schacht realized swimming once in a while wasn’t enough. So she decided to make her move into coaching scene and was hired by Cloquet for this fall, replacing former head coach Tone Coughlin.

“I have a lot of friends who have become coaches and they all tell me it’s a lot of fun,” said Schact, whose Lumberjacks started practice at the Cloquet Middle School pool on Aug. 17.

This year Schacht, who will also be assisted by former CEC standout Kayla Cresap, explained that 16 girls have already joined the Lumberjack program, while a handful of kids are still thinking about coming out for the team.

“It’ll take awhile to get things figured out around here, but I think we’ll be strong this year,” Schacht said about her young club. “We’re a young team and there is room for improvement, but the girls have put in a lot work during the summer and have already posted some good times. I’ve even had to adjust my workout plans a couple of times already because they have been doing so well in the pool. They really are a hard-working successful bunch.”

The CEC girls swim team will have their first meet Tuesday, Sept. 1, at Chisholm.

Tags: sports, swimming